GREENSBORO — What better way to chase away the rainy-day blues than coming up with names for two baby fishing cats?

The Greensboro Science Center is seeking the public’s help to name the two female kittens, which were born April 3. Their genders were confirmed during a veterinary exam on Wednesday, the center said in a news release.

Names can be submitted by responding to the science center's posts on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by 5 p.m. this Friday.

The center's staff will narrow down the suggestions to the top six before opening a public poll to select the final names.

"We are beyond excited to have a litter of two fishing cat girls," Jessica Hoffman-Balder, the center's vice president of animal care and welfare, said in the release. "Of the 34 fishing cats housed in North American facilities, only 6 of them were reproductively viable females. Adding young girls to this population was crucial and these two new additions will play a tremendous role in the sustainability of these amazing cats."

The kittens will be kept behind the scenes for another month or two. Keepers will wait until the animals are able to easily move around, get in and out of water, jump and climb before giving them access to the exhibit.

The science center is home to five fishing cats. The family includes 8-year-old female Tallulah, who came from the Columbus Zoo and 6-year-old male Mako, who came from the EFBC Feline Conservation Center in California. Their son Angler was born at the center on Feb. 15, 2018.

The center has a "fishing cat kitten cam" (see above), a livestream of the kittens behind the scenes. The animals move around quite a bit, so they may not always be visible.

Meanwhile, here's a video of the kittens' older brother, Angler, when he was learning the ropes from his mother.

Female fishing cat kittens

Two female fishing cats were born at the Greensboro Science Center on April 3.

Courtesy of Greensboro Science Center

Girl's family.jpg

Two female fishing cats were born at the Greensboro Science Center on April 3.

Courtesy of Greensboro Science Center

Female fishing cat kittens

This is one of two fishing cat kittens born at the Greensboro Science Center on April 3.

Courtesy of Greensboro Science Center

Fishing-Kittens-April-6.jpg

Images from a Greensboro Science Center videocamera show Tallulah, a fishing cat, and her two kittens, the day the babies were born.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.